


What's Beyond Control Makes You Miserable

by redstainedtoes



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: AU, Creepy, F/M, IDK WHAT TO PUT, M/M, Time Travel, anyway its gay i guess, i vaguely know what im writing, ill add more tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28422288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redstainedtoes/pseuds/redstainedtoes
Summary: Luke, Alex, and Reggie have all come back as ghosts, but what happened and why did they show up together?Or an AU in which the boys all died in different places, having never known each other.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49





	1. Stand Out in the Crowd

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from same graves by the ghost club go listen to his music it's good

"Ow!"

"What the fuck?"

"That's my leg!"

Three seventeen-year-old boys appeared out of thin air and fell on top of each other, panicking. They all scrambled to get up and backed away with wild eyes. One of them had blond hair that fell to his ears and was wearing pink and some weird fanny pack. Another had much darker hair that was center-parted and shorter, and he had a leather jacket and ripped jeans. Okay clearly he was really going for the punk aesthetic. The third was a brunette that wore a cutoff tee and had like twelve billion things attached to the chain on his belt. The three of them look at each other, confused. 

"What's going on?" the punk-boy asked, as if the _other_ guys that appeared out of nowhere would know any more than he did. 

"Dude something obviously happened to us," sleeveless answered.

"Wow, whatever-your-name-is, we fall from the fucking sky and _maybe_ something's wrong but I'm not sure," was blondie's response, sarcasm lacing his voice with worried undertones. Wow. He was kind of an asshole.

But this didn't seem to phase punk-boy. He just responded, "Oh right! Hi, I'm Reggie," in a voice that did not match his style at all.

Sleeveless reluctantly continued the introductions, having had a bad first impression already, "Sup I'm Luke."

"Alex," the third boy finished, looking warily at the other two. Sleeveless- _Luke_ opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by someone walking through him while talking on her phone as if she didn't notice literally walking through someone. It felt strange, like fast-moving cold air carved out where it needed to go, leaving the victim with shivers and an off feeling.

"WHAT WAS THAT," Reggie shrieked.

Alex rolled his eyes and explained, "That's what happens when lifers don't know you're there but why _here_ and why _now_ and why _you_?" He could already feel himself start to spiral into worry when Reggie's voice cut through,

"Um what's a lifer?"

"Someone that's living. It's right in the name," he answered.

"As opposed to what," Luke sneered, "ghosts?" But a serious look from Alex told him that he wasn't far from the truth. In fact, he was dead on. 

"Oh shit."

"You- you guys didn't know any of this?"

Memories came flooding back to Reggie and Luke, but they still knew nothing about being a ghost.

"Okay," Alex began, clasping his hands together and putting them near his mouth, "well when did you guys die?"

"July," Reggie confidently answered.

"Same!"

"No what YEAR you died because in case you didn't notice, we're in 2020," Alex exasperatedly told them.

"1995? I think?" He answered and Luke nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay, I did too so clearly there's some sort of connection here. We have to stick together to figure this out." Before Luke could interrupt, he continued, "Stay right there. I'm gonna find us a place to stay so we're not just standing here getting walked through." With that, the disappeared, leaving a temporary blue glow where he once was. Reggie and Luke looked at each other, surprise written on their faces, but didn't get to say anything before Alex came back.

"Dude, how did you do that?" Reggie exclaimed.

"Ghost things. I'll teach you later, cmon," Alex answered, grabbing the other two boys' hands in his own and teleporting them to a strange room? Reggie looked around excitedly while Luke still looked as if he was struggling to trust Alex. The room itself had two large beds, not that they would need them, carpeting, a window, a desk, and-

"Are we in a hotel room?" Luke wondered aloud.

"Yeah," Alex muttered, "I couldn't think of anywhere else to go, and we can just move when someone checks into here."

"So they have no idea we're here?" Reggie questioned, earning a nod in confirmation.

"Wicked"

"This sucks"

Two very different answers spoken at the same time came from Luke and Reggie. Luke flopped onto the bed while Reggie checked out the room and Alex looked out the window.

"Look," Alex started, gaining the attention of the other two, "I don't know what's going on, but clearly we all had a rough 25 years. I don't even know what happened during most of them, and by the looks of it neither of you knew they happened" they nodded so he kept going, "which means for you guys you died _last night_. So what we're gonna do is all relax and figure this out in the morning." He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself to take a breather, but Luke and Reggie still agreed, staying silent.

This was going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i made reggie keep his now or never hair because i said so


	2. We All Share the Same Graves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh no ✨problems✨

_Falling._

Wind pushed them around like they weighed no more than a feather, weak and waiting for a bitter end.

_Cold._

They were moving so fast that the cool night air stung their faces and pricked their fingertips.

_Hopeless._

They were going to die they were going to die they were going to-

The three of them bolted up from their respective corners and frantically looked around the room, sweat clinging to their foreheads and hands shaking. The fear in each other's eyes gave them confirmation that they had, in fact, all seen the same thing.

Reggie tried to lighten the mood, "So I'm assuming sharing dreams is another ghost thing," but his voice cracked and he ended up sounding scared instead of nonchalant. Even worse, Alex shook his head so fast that his hair whipped him in the face and his whole body shook with anxiety. Luke's eyes darted between the two of them, not willing to let his voice betray the fact that that he felt the same way. A silence passed between them before he finally mustered the courage to speak,

"That's not even how we died, so why did it feel like we were going to?"

"Well how _did_ you die?" Reggie asked him, Alex thankful for the distraction from whatever they had just seen.

"I think it was a car?" Luke's answer was unsure, "Yeah. I got hit while I was biking away," he appeared lost in thought until he shook his head clear and said back, "what about you, Alex?"

"Is it okay if I don't talk about it right now?" Luke looked confused and didn't know how to respond, so he just nodded and gestured to Reggie.

He looked like he was going to laugh, which the others didn't understand until he said, "Food? Poisoning?" Alex surprisingly started laughing, after how tense he had previously been. Reggie joined in, as if in agreement that that was a pretty dumb way to die. Luke started laughing last, ringing out clearly, a comforting sound and- _what the fuck Alex. No._ The tension in the room dissipated as they laughed over something so small, but the small moment of relief had taken over and lifted a large weight off their backs. Maybe they would be able to get through this, together.

He wiped tears from the corners of his eyes (when did he start crying?) and said, still trying to contain giggles, "Hey guys, can we grab some new clothes? I don't really wanna stay in the outfit I died in."

Reggie was still sniffling when he responded, "Yeah, yeah, I can try to take you to the thrift shop I got this jacket at." Luke nodded in agreement and they all stood up and linked hands, waiting for Reggie. He tried, one, two, three, four times before they teleported out of the room and onto the sidewalk in front of... a coffee shop?

"Aw cmon! Another dumb coffee shop?" he yelled to no one in particular, "Why do they have to ruin EVERYTHING." But before he could complain more he felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Alex pointing somewhere across the street. _Oh._

"That it?" Luke chuckled. Reggie shamefully nodded and walked across the street with them, noting that he needs more practice with the whole ghost powers thing. He muttered something about a mistake and Alex directed a teasing smile at him. They walked through the door (still weird) and Reggie immediately started looking around, excited to be back to such a familiar place. Luke and Alex shared a look but followed, admiring some of the cool items. They were all happy that some 90s clothes had made their way to this particular shop, giving them opportunity to match their old styles. They walked through the aisles for nearly an hour before they had each picked out clothes to wear. They all chose pants similar to the ones they were already wearing, but Alex grabbed a blue tee, Reggie took a black tank top and a red flannel, and Luke chose a white _Poison_ t-shirt. Alex motioned for them to leave and they held each other's hands once more, popping back into the hotel room. Clearly Alex hadn't thought this through because he just stood there until Luke said, 

"Cmon guys, we've been wearing the same clothes for twenty-five years." They hurriedly put on their new clothes, relieved to have been able to choose something for themselves in the midst of their situation. 

Reggie's face heated up as he observed what Luke was doing, completely oblivious as to Alex was giving him a _look._ Luke had taken off his old shirt and was currently studying his new one, holding it up in front of him. Reggie didn't know _why_ he couldn't look away, but he wasn't complaining about the view. His jaw nearly dropped open as he watched Luke rip the sleeves right off of it, creating yet another sleeveless shirt for himself with wide armholes. Alex would have been impressed if he wasn't so very interested in the ground underneath his feet for... no particular reason. However, when he looked up he didn't miss Luke noticing the fact that Reggie's flannel was tied around his waist instead of covering up his black tank. Once they were all ready, they decided that they would spend the day in different places, checking out what they had each left behind before they would meet up again at night. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DID YALLS CATCH THE STAND TALL REFERENCE


	3. Hey There Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's like no talking in this chapter but whatever cause its BACKSTORY TIME (even though it's really the same as before they just all died differently and obviously didn't know each other)

The first thing Alex did once the others left was go to his old church. He was never a very religious person, never really paying much attention to the words he chanted along with the rest of the people surrounding him. Sometimes he had felt like a fraud, and sometimes he was guilty. Honestly, none of that was as bad as the toll homophobia took on him. Even before Alex came out, his parents had looked at others like him with disgust while he sat in silence, his cross weighing heavy around his neck. After he told them he was gay, it was like they had never loved him in the first place. His parents and the church acted cold and distant as slurs were hurled at him at school.

When he walked through the doors, the room was empty and he felt a chill sweep over him, along with the hints of what remained of a guilty conscious. Burnt-out candles left a strange scent and his breaths echoed against the walls for his ears only. It was all too much too soon and so he stepped outside to look at the graveyard next to the building, reserved for members of the church, where his parents said his whole family was to be buried. But when he looked at the headstones of his bloodline and saw no evidence that he had been remembered at all, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and frantically searched the entire properly. He checked over and over again, refusing to believe what evidently had happened. He collapsed and wondered if they had ever thought he would know. 

Luke went straight to his old house, and let out a small sigh of relief to see that they were still living there. He wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to come back, he had died running away after all. But something in his gut told him that it was the least he could do. He had argued with his mom almost constantly, her insisting that he would never make a career out of music, especially without a band. He told her he would be able to make it on his own but she never listened and so one night, he just left, feeling somewhat free but the guitar on his back was a painful thing. She had bought it for him, after all.

He immediately got choked up when he stepped into the house. It vaguely smelled of one of the candles he had bought his mom for christmas one year and in the back of his mind he wondered if she kept buying that same one for that reason. The photos of him, his dad, and his mom lined the walls just like they used to, as if no time had passed. All the lyrics floating through his mind came to a halt as he saw his mom, just sitting and reading. Her hair was much whiter than it used to be and the book looked new and suddenly his dad came in too and he looked more or less the same as he used to, but the age was clear on his face. This would have been the part where four-year-old Luke came in and hugged his mom and asked of the three of them could bake cookies. Between all the yelling and hurt, they did have their warm moments of togetherness and Luke regretted everything he had done to drive them away.

Reggie didn't go to anyone's house or any special building, but instead went to his favorite spot on the beach, right towards the edge of the dunes. His house was constantly a war zone, his parents fighting constantly, his father even getting physical sometimes. Every once in a while, when he had stayed in the house, his name floated through the thin floors and he wondered if it was his fault that they hated each other. He had gotten caught in it a few times, sometimes ending up with bruises he would just blame on being clumsy, but he would always walk away fighting tears because his father always told him that real men don't cry.

But this was his happy place. He would always sit and watch the waves crashing down underneath the sunset and pointedly avoid looking at the happy families around him. Nobody ever asked what he was doing, so he always came back and it felt safe. The back of his mind screamed at him that this is what a home should feel like, not what he had to return to every night. But this time he just sat there and nobody could see him, and that was comforting in a strange sort of way. He didn't want to know what had happened to his family, he was too afraid. So he sat there, the music in his mind drowning out the noise that surrounded him.

Luke and Reggie poofed back into their room to see the lights completely off, Alex laying facedown on a bed. They shared a look with each other and Reggie tapped him on the shoulder, causing the blond to look up at him. Despite the darkness, they could see the pain clear in his face and the redness of his eyes that betrayed the fact that he had been crying. But they knew not to ask, they had all had a difficult time too. So they each sat on the edge of the bed next to him, silent until Reggie cleared his throat and said in a hushed, raspy voice, 

"Look, Alex," the boy shifted next to him, "I know we've only known each other for like, two days, but I know I-" he looked at Luke, " _we,_ we would be willing to listen if you needed to talk."

They heard a muffled, "Thanks," coming from where his face was on the pillow and that was enough for now. They sat there for a while, listening to the chorus of deep breaths between them before he continued, "I don't know though, Luke doesn't seem to like me very much."

Luke gave a sad smile and leaned down into his ear to whisper, "I got a bad first impression, you were really on edge when we first met," he could hear Alex scoff at that, "but I also know that we have to work through this together, so I'm willing to do better."

Alex sighed into the pillow and Reggie carefully moved off the bed to go lay down on his own, also overwhelmed and tired, despite only being able to half-sleep as a ghost. Luke stayed for a little longer but ended up doing the same, laying on the couch. Their breathing turned steady and their minds were eased as their consciousness shifted into something more manageable that gave hope for a better future. Whatever future they could have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was lowkey painful to write  
> happy new year???


	4. These Chains Are Falling Off All Over Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay first of all i would like to say THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT this is my first thing i've posted that has a set storyline to follow and actual problems so get ready for more!

The three of them were in a dark room, pitch black surrounding them. They whipped their heads around, looking for an exit when they saw a window far off into the distance. They ran towards it, but they never seemed to get any closer. A figure appeared in front of the light before flickering out. They paused, looking between each other, wondering if it was safe to continue. But before they could keep going, the same dark figure appeared in front of them. They couldn't see the person's face, it was almost as if they were just a shadow. But then the shadow began to speak in a unsettling, silky voice,

"I found you."

They awoke with a start, eyes wide and scared. But instead of saying anything, Alex disappeared from the room, leaving no clue of where he was going. Luke shot up and punched the wall, fist going right through it, which only fed into his frustration. 

"Why does something always go wrong?!" he yelled to no one. 

"Shouldn't we go look for him?" Reggie meekly suggested.

"I don't know, should we?" Luke continued, rage filling his voice, "He tells us that we have to stick together, and I was willing to give him a chance, but the second something happens, he leaves us here? He's the one that knows everything and he doesn't give so much as an explanation before he goes to who knows where?"

"Luke-"

"What, Reggie?" he practically growled. Reggie kept his head down and Luke's expression immediately softened, "Hey, I'm sorry for shouting at you, I'm just mad at Alex."

Reggie mumbled something but Luke couldn't quite understand it.

"What did you say? I won't yell this time."

"I want to go look for him," he whispered, eyes still focused on the floor. Luke huffed and ran a hand through his hair, finally responding, 

"Yeah, okay." He grabbed Reggie's hand, making the latter look up. They locked eyes for a moment and poofed out, landing where the three of them had first met. 

"So where should we look first? I don't know where he'd be since we don't really know him too well."

Reggie looked surprised that he was the one being asked, "You're asking for my opinion?"

Luke nodded and followed with, "You're the boss," punctuating it with a wink. 

The two of them walked up and down everywhere they could think of, from the streets to the beaches, but they couldn't find him. Every once in a while they would see a flash of blond hair, but it always ended up being a lifer that was just a bit too short or too muscular or too confident to be Alex. As they walked, they ignored the unspoken fear between them of what their dreams meant, and why they were happening. Eventually, Reggie got sick of looking and asked,

"Can't we, I don't know, purposely teleport to him instead of a place?" Luke smacked his head as if it was obvious all along and thought of the blond boy they were searching for, and tried to picture him in his mind. Then, he poofed them both out.

They landed on an L of the Hollywood sign, and Reggie nearly fell off in surprise, laughing when Luke grabbed him and pulled him back. But when his back was turned, Luke tapped his shoulder and pointed behind him, where they could see Alex on the top of another letter. As silently as possible, they teleported themselves up to him and kneeled down beside him on either side. They noticed that he was crying with no sound coming out, just tears rolling down his face.

"Hey, Alex?" Reggie tried to get his attention, but the boy just kept looking down.

Luke gently placed a finger under Alex's chin and lifted his head up so they were looking at each other. Alex looked surprised and tried to wipe the tears off his face quickly so they wouldn't notice, but Luke did it for him with his thumb, his touch soft on his cheek. He was going to say something when Alex quietly said, 

"Sorry I left."

"Like you said, we have to stick together," Reggie reasoned.

Luke nodded and brought Alex's attention back to him, "Just don't do it again, okay?"

Alex seemed to agree and said, "I just got scared, sorry."

"We were scared too."

"Reggie's right, it freaked us all out, do you know what's going on?"

"Um," Alex hesitantly began, "I think somebody's after us."

Reggie let out a small gasp and asked why.

"I don't know, but you're right, we can't just leave like I did, I promise it won't happen again."

"So whoever that is," Luke mused, "they want all three of us, so we need to protect each other."

Another tear rolled down Alex's cheek and Reggie was quick to reassure him, "We got this, okay? We'll figure this out together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't think any of them r gonna date each other i just wanted to acknowledge that everyone that likes guys has a crush on luke. that's fair right?


End file.
